Pandemonium in Gambia. Last weekend, their under-17 football team beat Brazil 3-1 at the World Youth Cup in Peru to inspire madness that was as uncontrollable as it was unexpected. In the cities, people poured on to the streets as fireworks were let off and car horns tooted the night away. In the villages, folk celebrated by drumming. The national party was so hysterical the police subsequently released a statement urging that future football celebrations be more 'orderly and decent'.

Some perspective: Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, tucked away inside Senegal, and with a population not much bigger than Birmingham's. A visit to a top-of-the-table game at Banjul's national stadium last January betrayed no signs whatsoever that the country was capable of causing shockwaves in international football. 'Sleepy' best described the atmosphere and general opinion about the standard of play was apologetic.

Before the 'Baby Scorpions' came of age, Gambian football existed with no achievements on its international CV. They had never qualified for any tournaments - regional, continental, global or otherwise - until these youngsters won the African under-17s championship they hosted in May. And suddenly, from nowhere, the world's number-one team are slain. 'I cannot believe this is happening,' said Alhaji Momodu Njie, Gambia's most celebrated footballer and evidently a born optimist. 'I have always waited for the day Gambia would beat Brazil!'

Njie was one of a group of several hundred Gambian supporters and dignitaries who have experienced the oddest week of their lives. They were supposed to have watched the Brazil game in Peru, courtesy of a charter flight bankrolled by the President of the country, Yahya AJJ Jammeh.

Unfortunately, they were camped in a hotel for several days waiting for the plane and missed the game. After the victory over Brazil, such was the delegation's eagerness to get out there for Gambia's second match (a 3-1 win over Qatar in the northern Peruvian city of Piura) the pilots faked the need for an emergency landing so that the party could make kick-off.

Emergency services were scrambled, and the plane entered Peruvian airspace without permission, to land at a tiny airport used only for domestic flights. It paid off as the Gambians arrived just in time to see the Baby Scorpions rack up their second victory. 'It truly was a scam,' complained a spokeswoman for Peru's aviation authority. 'They tricked the control tower.'

Diplomatic incident aside, the Gambians were a sensation in Peru. Momodou Ceesay is, literally, the team's biggest hero. Standing 6ft 4in in his socks, his physical power overwhelmed Brazil. 'I just love to play football, but to beat Brazil, well that's got to be the best night of my life,' Ceesay said. 'The people of Gambia were so happy, they even asked us to come back home after that game. They said it's over now because what we have already achieved is enough!'

With an abundance of international scouts in attendance in Peru, the chance to play in a more sophisticated environment than the Gambian league entices. The 16-year-old Ceesay, nicknamed Zico, currently plays for local team Wallidan. This Baby Scorpion's adventure is the first time he has set foot outside his homeland. 'I would like to play in England if I can,' said the striker, whose strong running down the flanks and deft touch belie his towering frame. 'My favourite team is Arsenal and Thierry Henry is my favourite player, so I would love to go there if possible.'

The impact of Ceesay and his team had cynics muttering about the long-term problem of African sport's flexible approach to birthdays. But Gambia's coach, Fred Osam Duodu, resents accusations of age cheating. 'This is not the case,' he says. 'You see people from this part of West Africa are often tall in appearance and it's not necessarily that they are over-aged.'

The results, the reaction, the jetsetting, the publicity - it has all been a bit of a whirlwind for the young Gambians. Going into their final group game against Holland on Friday evening, they had catapulted from rank outsiders to potential winners.

As suddenly as they bolted up the ladder, however, they plunged down the snake. Gambia were outmanoeuvred by Dutch passing and movement, and were 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go. With Brazil simultaneously breezing past Qatar 6-0, a place in the last 16 teetered on a knife edge.

The Gambians had one last chance to save the day, a late penalty which Ceesay stepped up to take. The fans were jubilant, the drums rumbled, his team-mates hugged him before he walked to the spot. Ceesay missed. Gambia went out on goal difference.

'I don't know why he took the penalty. My decision was our captain [Ousman Jallow], but for some reason they changed it on the pitch,' said coach Duodu. 'Our people must be proud because of the way we played in our first World Cup. They shouldn't feel sad.'

After such an emotionally supercharged week for African football's traditional no-hopers, the game in Gambia will never be the same again.